About Us
Sisters, Laura Smith and Erin Smith, founded Growing Hope Together to bring the communities of Newfield, NY and Simenya, Kenya together in an effort to broaden knowledge of how to produce food and promote cultural exchange on the platform of gardening. The sisters grew up in Newfield, a small agricultural town in central NY. They attended the Newfield school system and then later went on to attend nearby Cornell University. With their education and experiences in developing countries, the two sisters saw a niche that they could fill. With some help from their mother, Linda Poppleton, they decided to "make a difference".
Laura graduated from Cornell University in 2007 with a degree in Nutritional Sciences. After several years working at Cornell's Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management, she decided to continue her studies, and is currently pursuing her PhD in International Nutrition. Early on in her undergraduate studies, she worked with Professor Ardyth Gellispie on her research concerning family food decision making and food security. In Laura's junior year, she studied abroad in Kenya with a field-based health program. This experience had a great impact on Laura and her strong interest in international nutrition began to grow. In 2007, she returned to Kenya, with her mother and her sister, to visit the Kenyan family she had lived with while studying abroad. They traveled to her homestay father's rural home in the village of Simenya in Western Kenya. This trip became much more than a visit; Laura, Linda and Erin became part of this wonderful and vibrant community.
Erin graduated from Cornell University in 2010, majoring in Human Development and minoring in Education. She is currently finishing up a Master's program in education at the University at Buffalo. Erin became interested in agricultural education during her senior year in high school when she participated in the New Visions Agricultural and Environmental Science program. As a freshman at Cornell, she began conducting her own research on high school students' agricultural perceptions under the supervision of Dr. Travis Park. In the fall of 2008, she studied abroad in the Brazilian Amazon. Her research and experience concerning agricultural education has led her to see a great need to reconnect youth with where their food comes from.
Linda graduated from Cornell University in 1981 with a degree in Animal Science. She has worked at Cornell University for 30 years, and has raised three children. She enjoys traveling and volunteering with various community organizations.
And so Growing Hope Together was born!
Laura, Erin and their mother Linda began Growing Hope Together in an effort to broaden knowledge of how to produce food and, promote cultural exchange on the platform of gardening. They want to involve Simenya and Newfield in a process of building their communities to support vibrant and healthy children and families. In Simenya, the problems are disease and poverty. In Newfield, many families have become disconnected from the food system, and childhood obesity is on the rise.
Our vision is that Growing Hope Together will connect children, families, schools and communities from these different cultures to exchange ideas and innovation while reconnecting with the local foodscape through an integrated school gardening curriculum. We will promote sustainable agriculture techniques and greater cultural awareness to support vibrant and healthy children and families.
Newfield and Simenya are only the beginning. If you are interested in getting involved in this project as an individual, family, school, organization or whole community, this is your chance to begin Growing Hope Together.